Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978

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James Gould Cozzens (1903-1978), author of fourteen novels and numerous short stories, was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended the Kent School, and after his graduation in 1922 he went on to Harvard University. While attending Harvard, he published his first novel, Confusion, in 1924. A few months later, he withdrew from Harvard for reasons of health and finances. He moved to New Brunswick, Canada, where he wrote his next novel, Michael Scarlett . Like Confusion, it was not well received. He relocated to Cuba, where he began to write short stories. His experiences there provided material for later stories and novels, but he resigned after only a brief period as he felt that his writing career was stagnating. Though he published two more novels, his career did not improve until 1927, when he married Sylvia Bernice Baumgarten, a literary agent who successfully guided his career for the rest of her life.

Cozzens published ten more novels and a volume of short stories entitled Children and Others . He was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and won many awards, including the O. Henry Award in 1931 for "A Farewell to Cuba" and again in 1936 for "Total Stranger," the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 for Guard of Honor, and the William Dean Howells medal in 1960 for By Love Possessed . However, none of his works achieved great success or popularity and Cozzens increasingly withdrew from society. As the years went on, he displayed a loss of appetite for living and an interest in suicide which pervaded his diaries. In 1978, he died in a hospital in Stuart, Florida, of cancer of the spine.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Green, Paul. The last Adam : a novel, 1933 May 24 / by James Gould Cozzens ; screenplay by Paul Green ; continuity by Jane Storm. Ohio State University Libraries
referencedIn Bernard Augustine De Voto Papers, 1918-1955 (inclusive), 1944-1951 (bulk) Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. Papers, 1963. Florida State University
creatorOf Galley Proofs of James Gould Cozzens, 1924 and 1964 Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. Galley proofs, 1924, 1964 [manuscript]. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn New Yorker records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Matthew Joseph Bruccoli papers on James Gould Cozzens Houghton Library
creatorOf Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962. Papers of William Stanley Beaumont Braithwaite [manuscript] 1904-1935 (1958). University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Yaddo records, 1870-1980 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Robert H. Elias papers, 1933-1983. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
referencedIn De Voto, Bernard Augustine, 1897-1955. Bernard De Voto papers, 1918-1955 (bulk 1944-1951). Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn O'Connor, Flannery. Flannery O'Connor collection, [ca.1937-2003]. Emory University. Special Collections and Archives
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. Papers of James Gould Cozzens, 1967-1978. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf James Gould Cozzens Papers, 1878-1978, 1878-1978, 1940s-1960s Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare Books and Special CollectionsManuscripts Division
creatorOf Hillyer, Robert, 1895-1961. Papers, 1725-1961. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. Papers of James Gould Cozzens [manuscript] 1923-60. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961. Letter, 1957 Sept. 30, Westbury, New York to Robert Manning, Esq, Time Inc., Editorial Dept., Time and Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York. University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries
referencedIn William Stanley Braithwaite Papers, 1916-1962 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn John Phillips Marquand correspondence Houghton Library
referencedIn Elias, Robert H. Robert H. Elias papers, 1933-1983. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. Letter : Tuinucú, Cuba, to Hoyt, 1925 Nov. 15. Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Rhymer, Paul, 1905-1964. Papers, 1928-1988. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Dupee, Mary C. TLS, 1931 October 22, New York, New York to Thomas Warburton, Manchester, England. Wake Forest University - ZSR Library, Z. Smith Reynolds Library
referencedIn Robert Hillyer Papers, 1906-1962 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Freeman Field research paper, 1995. Indiana Historical Society Library
creatorOf Children and others, : galley proofs, / James Gould Cozzens, 1964 University of California, Irvine. Library. Department of Special Collections
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-. Materials concerning the publication of Confusion : manuscript, 1923-1925 and undated. Houghton Library
referencedIn William Stanley Braithwaite papers, 1898-1979 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
creatorOf Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962. William Stanley Braithwaite papers, 1898-1979. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Smith, William Jay, 1918-. Papers. Washington University in St. Louis, .
creatorOf Hobson, Thayer. Thayer Hobson Papers, 1913-1967 (bulk 1958-1967). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Autograph File, C Houghton Library
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. Pencil used by Cozzens n.d. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. James Gould Cozzens papers, 1878-1978. Princeton University Library
referencedIn Thayer Hobson Papers TXRC03-A19., 1913-1967 (bulk 1958-1967) Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Adams, Minna, person
associatedWith Allison, James. person
associatedWith Bennett, Arnold, 1867-1931, person
associatedWith Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962, person
associatedWith Bruccoli, Matthew J. (Matthew Joseph), 1931-2008 person
associatedWith Cozzens, Bertha Wood, d. 1953. person
associatedWith De Voto, Bernard Augustine, 1897-1955. person
associatedWith Dupee, Mary C. person
associatedWith Elias, Robert H. person
associatedWith Elliston, George, 1883-1946, person
associatedWith Green, Paul. person
associatedWith Harvard University corporateBody
associatedWith Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961. person
associatedWith Hillyer, Robert, 1895-1961. person
associatedWith Hobson, Thayer. person
associatedWith Hobson, Thayer, 1897-1967 person
associatedWith Kohn, John S. Van E., 1906-1976, person
correspondedWith Marquand, John P. (John Phillips), 1893-1960 person
correspondedWith New Yorker Magazine, Inc corporateBody
associatedWith O'Connor, Flannery. person
correspondedWith Peter, Emmett B., Jr. person
associatedWith Rhymer, Paul, 1905-1964. person
associatedWith Smith, William Jay, 1918- person
associatedWith United States. Air Force corporateBody
associatedWith Wainwright, Alexander D. person
associatedWith Whelen, Christopher. person
associatedWith Yaddo (Artist's colony) corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
American literature
American literature
Publishers and publishing
Authors, American
American fiction
American fiction
Authors
Authors and publishers
Mothers and sons
Mothers and sons
Writing services
Occupation
Novelists, American
Activity

Person

Birth 1903-08-19

Death 1978-08-09

Americans

English

Information

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